Angel Tree Program Benefits Thousands Of Area Children, Families Over Holidays

January 10, 1990|By MELANIE S. HATTER Staff Writer

Approximately 19,000 families and 7,000 area children benefited from the Angel Tree program sponsored by the Salvation Army and WVEC-TV over the holidays, says Capt. Robert Hartsook, Peninsula district commander of the Salvation Army which serves a region extending to Gloucester, Mathews and Williamsburg.

Recipients enjoyed 27,000 gifts of food, toys and mostly clothing. Hartsook says the number of participants giving and receiving has increased over the last few years, especially since salaries have not risen at the same rate as inflation.

"What we're finding today is more single parents who earn too much to get assistance but not enough to survive. They end up in soup closets. And many families can pay their bills but can't afford to buy gifts. It's a national concern."

For Brenda Snyder, who supervised the Angel Tree at K-Mart on Oriana Road in the Denbigh section of Newport News, the program represents the goodness that exists in the world.

"It makes me believe in mankind again. There's so much bad news all the time that when I see a bell-ringer standing in the cold for others I believe there is good in the world," she says.

"I get enjoyment explaining what the tree means to people and if someone takes a name, that makes me feel good."

Snyder found the customers to be "fairly generous in the size of gifts they gave." However, she didn't expect a great response because "it started out real slow, then 1 1/2 weeks into it things began picking up. I couldn't keep the angels on the tree."

This is the sixth year for the Angel Tree program on the Peninsula, and Hartsook says this area is the front-runner for the program which is held in other nearby localities. As the recipients increase so must the contributors, he says. "We don't exist without community support."

The Angel Tree program included trees decorated with paper angels that featured children's names, ages and clothing sizes. The trees were distributed to area malls and department stores such as K-Mart, Roses and Ames. Churches put up trees and companies including Anheuser-Busch and Phillip Morris also participated. Shoppers could select an angel and purchase gifts for that particular child. The gifts were wrapped and returned to lay under the tree until the Salvation Army collected and distributed them.

The Salvation Army starts preparing and planning the annual program in August, purchasing toys as far in advance as July. "Christmas for us is nine months of the year," says Hartsook.

The Angel Tree program is geared toward young children but a tree for senior citizens was set up in Williamsburg. Plans are to expand the program to include senior citizens across the Peninsula this Christmas.

Hartsook noticed a large number of young people, including teen-agers and toddlers, were influenced by television to sponsor an angel this past holiday.

"People need to appreciate what they've got 'cause it can be taken away so easily," says Snyder. "I think most people give because you never know when the shoe will be on the other foot. You get back what you put out."